The Invisible Raptor

Roger Corman would have approved of this gimmick. Suckers People are always interested in dinosaurs, but if they are invisible, you can save a lot on special effects. Yet, rather surprisingly, it is Spielberg who gets regular hat-tips and shoutouts rather than the King of the B’s in this dino-mash-up. Even more shockingly, the results are consistently funny, but never cloyingly campy throughout Mike Hermosa’s The Invisible Raptor, which opens this Friday in theaters and on VOD.

Dr. Grant Walker was once a promising paleontologist, but now he hosts attractions at the Dinosaur Theme Park Museum. Unfortunately, some of the scents will attract the invisible velociraptor that escapes from Dr. Wille Walsh’s lab. If you are wondering how he created it, his assistant simply explains by asking “have you seen Jurassic Park?”

Screenwriters Mike Capes and Johnny Wickam frequently return to Spielbergian themes and motifs, obviously including Walker’s Indy-ish hat. (There is also a little boy named Elliott, and the list goes on.) However, Denny Denielson, the “Museum” security guard, and his “shortcomings,” are not very Spielbergian. However, Walker’s reconnection with his former college girlfriend Amber, during a time of crisis, has plenty of precedent, but she still has more attitude than you might expect. Yet, when it comes to attitude, Henrietta McCluckskey, the foul-mouthed owner of a chicken farm, notorious for her bizarre late-night commercials, is in a league by herself.

Somehow, the unlikely gang of four will take a stand against the marauding invisible raptor, but it is not easy for any of them to get their acts together. Of course, the cops would be useless even under normal circumstance, so good luck convincing them to look out for an invisible raptor.

Invisible Raptor is a bit uneven (shocker, I know), but it lands more often than not. There is little mugging (except maybe sometimes from David Shackelford as Denielson, the saddest trailer park redneck ever), because Capes and Wickam’s dialogue is usually sufficiently funny to deliver straight. Likewise, the third act climax is absolutely ridiculous, but it is also hilarious, because it makes twisted sense in the context of the film.

So, what does an invisible raptor look like? Who knows? He’s invisible. However, there are plenty of satisfyingly goofy invisibility effects. Capes and Catlin McHugh Stamos both show an aptitude for deadpan one-liners as Walker and Amber. Sandy Martin is completely insane, in a good way, as the gleefully deranged McCluckskey. Plus, Sean Astin (of The Goonies, co-written and executive produced by Spielberg) is perfectly cast as Dr. Walsh.

Sure, Invisible Raptor is kind of dumb, but its funny, usually in ways that don’t feel dumb, or at least not extremely so. It probably will not garner many guild awards or top ten lists, but it is exponentially more fun than many top contenders. Recommended for its love of cinema and its determination to entertain, The Invisible Raptor opens this Friday (12/6) in LA at the Laemmle Glendale.